A balloon valvotomy is the preferred treatment for mitral valve stenosis. It is a procedure that widens the mitral valve so that blood flows more easily through the heart.

A balloon valvotomy is a minimally invasive procedure. A doctor uses a thin flexible tube (catheter) that is inserted through an artery in the groin or arm and threaded into the heart. When the tube reaches the narrowed mitral valve, a balloon device located on the tip of the catheter is quickly inflated. The narrowed or fused mitral valve leaflets are separated and stretched open as the balloon presses against them. This process increases the size of the mitral valve opening and allows more blood to flow from the left atrium into the left ventricle.

Balloon valvotomy is catheter-based, not surgical, and has a lower risk of complications and death than an open-heart surgery such as a commissurotomy or valve replacement.

After 3 to 7 years, about 35 to 50 out of 100 people need another procedure or surgery.

About 80 to 95 out of 100 people who are treated with a balloon valvotomy have successful outcomes and almost immediate symptom relief.